Correlation mechanism to communicate in a dual-plane architecture

ABSTRACT

A system and method is disclosed that correlates the MSISDN of a target mobile by performing an out of band request using a IMSI. The correlation between the MSISDN and the IMSI of IMEI is cashed at a database for retrieval. The correlation of the MSISDN allows the position of a mobile device to be determined using a CoPL and/or SUPL location determination sessions.

The disclosure claims the filing-date benefit of Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/800,436, filed 16 May 2006, the specification of which isincorporated herein in its entirety.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This disclosure is related to application Ser. No. ______ AND01065/1389_and application Ser. No. ______ AND01 068/1392, both filedconcurrently herewith, the specifications of which are incorporatedherein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure generally relates to position or location approaches inGSM, CDMA, and UMTS networks. Further, this disclosure relates to userand control plane location approaches in core networks and GERAN, UTRAN,and Complementary Access radio access networks.

Mobile communications infrastructure is typically conceptualized in twogenerally separate components: the core network (CN); and the radioaccess network (RAN). Together, this infrastructure enables userequipment (UE), the RAN, and CN to be developed and implementedseparately according to the permissive standards set by organizationssuch as 3GPP and ITU. Thus, various types of RANs, such as GERAN orUTRAN, can be paired with a single UMTS CN. Also, the UMTS standardsprovide for protocol separation between data related to usercommunications and data related to control of the network's variouscomponents. For example, within a UMTS mobile communications network,User Plane (UP) bearers are responsible for the transfer of user data,including but not limited to voice or application data. Control Plane(CoP) bearers handle control signaling and overall resource management.

As mobile networks transition towards 3G and beyond, location services(LCS, applications of which are sometimes referred to as Location BasedServices, or LBS) have emerged as a vital service component enabled orprovided by wireless communications networks. In addition to providingservices conforming to government regulations such as wireless E911, LCSsolutions also provide enhanced usability for mobile subscribers andrevenue opportunities for network operators and service providers alike.

Position includes geographic coordinates, relative position, andderivatives such as velocity and acceleration. Although the term“position” is sometimes used to denote geographical position of anend-user while “location” is used to refer to the location within thenetwork structure, these terms may often be used interchangeably withoutcausing confusion. Common position measurement types used in mobilepositioning or LCS include, but are not limited to, range, proximity,signal strength (such as path loss models or signal strength maps),round trip time, time of arrival, and angle of arrival. Multiplemeasurements can be combined, sometimes depending on which measurementtypes are available, to measure position. These combination approachesinclude, but are not limited to, radial (for example, employing multiplerange measurements to solve for best agreement among circular loci),angle (for example, combining range and bearing using signal strength orround trip time), hyperbolic (for example, using multipletime-of-arrival), and real time differencing (for example, determiningactual clock offsets between base stations).

Generally, LCS methods are accomplished through CoP or UP methods. CoPLocation (CoPL) refers to using control signaling within the network toprovide location information of the subscriber or UE. UP Location (UPL),such as Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) uses user data to providelocation information. CoPL location approaches include, but are notlimited to, Angle-of-Arrival (AoA), Observed Time-Difference-of-Arrival(OTDoA), Observed-Time-Difference (OTD), Enhanced-OTD (E-OTD), AssistedGlobal Positioning System (A-GPS), and Assisted Galileo NavigationSatellite System (A-GNSS). UPL approaches include, but are not limitedto, Assisted Global Positioning System (A-GPS), and Assisted GalileoNavigation Satellite System (A-GNSS), where this position data iscommunicated over Internet Protocol (IP).

There are two established architectures associated with locationdetermination in modern cellular networks. They are Control Plane (CoP)and User Plane (UP) architectures. Typically location requests are sentto a network through a query gateway function 1. Depending on thenetwork implementation CoP 15 or UP 10 may be used but not a combinationof both, as shown in FIG. 1. Note that queries may also come directlyfrom the target device itself rather than via a gateway. Similarly, CoPor UP may be used but not both.

The difference between user plane and control plane, strictly, is thatthe former uses the communication bearer established with the device inorder to communicate measurements. The latter uses the native signalingchannels supported by the controlling network elements of the core andaccess to communicate measurements. As such, CoPL supports AGPS—it usescontrol plane signaling interfaces to communicate GPS data to/from thehandset. Similarly UPL can do EOTD—the handset takes the timingmeasurements but it communicates them to the location platform using thedata bearer.

UPL has the advantage of not depending on specific access technology tocommunicate measurement information. CoPL has the advantage that it canaccess and communicate measurements which may not be available to thedevice. Current models require network operators to deploy one or theother; CoPL or UPL

Control Plane Location (CoPL) uses the native signaling plane of thenetwork to establish sessions and communicate messages associated withlocation requests and to communicate measurements used for determininglocation. The control plane is the signaling infrastructure used forprocedures such as call control, hand-off, registration, andauthentication in a mobile network; CoPL uses this same infrastructurefor the performing location procedures. CoPL can utilize measurementsmade by both the control plane network elements as well as the end-userdevice being located.

FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary architectural diagram of CoPL. Themobile station or mobile appliance 101 communication with the basetransceiver station (BTS) 105 via wireless interface Um. The basestation controller (BCS) 107 manages radio resources including the BTS105 via the Abis interface. The Abis interface is an open interfacecompletely defined as part of the ETSI specification for GSM and carriesthe call set up information, including voice channel assignments betweenthe BSC 107 and BTS 105. The Mobile switching center/visitor's locationregister (MSC/VLR) 113 coordinates between the mobile appliancecommunication network and the global mobile location center (GMLC) 117.

In operation, a location measurement device (not shown) may be connectedto the BSC 107 via the Abis wire line interface and makes measurementson the RF signals of the Um interface, along with other measurements tosupport one or more of the position methods associated with the CoPL.The measurements from the location measurement units are sent to aservicing mobile location center (SMLC) 109 via BCS 107 where thelocation of MS 101 can be determined. The BTS 105, BSC 107 and SMLC 109form a base station subsystem (BSS) 103.

The GMLC 117 is connected to the home location register (HLR) 111 overan Lh interface and the MSC/VLR 113 over an Lg interface. The globalmobile switching center (GMSC) 115 is operably connected to the MSC/VLR113.

The operation of a CoPL architecture is shown in FIG. 2B. This shows the3GPP location services architecture. The gateway mobile location centre(GMLC) 117 is the network element that receives the location requests.The GMLC queries the HLR 111 over the Lh interface to find out whichpart of the access network 107 the target device is currently beingserved by. The GMLC 117 sends a location request to the current servingcore network node 113 via the Lg interface. The current serving corenetwork node 113 (e.g. MSC or serving GPRS service node (SGSN)) thenpasses the request to the part of the access network 107 that the targetdevice is attached to z(a GERAN BSC or UTRAN RNC for example). Thisaccess network element 107 then invokes the facilities of the SMLC 109.The location request session between the access network node 107 and theSMLC 109 provides a channel by which the SMLC 109 can ask for networkmeasurements or to send messages to the end-user device 101 so thatdevice measurement information can be exchanged. The SMLC 109 may alsoobtain location measurement information from external devices 110 suchas location measurement units (LMUs) which take RF readings from the airinterface for example. Similarly, the device may also take measurementsfrom external systems, such as GPS satellites, and communicate these tothe SMLC 109.

Developed as an alternative to CoPL, Secure User Plane Location (SUPL)is set of standards managed by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) totransfer assistance data and positioning data over IP to aid network andterminal-based positioning technologies in ascertaining the position ofa SUPL Enabled Terminal (SET).

User Plane Location (UPL) does not explicitly utilize the control planeinfrastructure. Instead it assumes that a data bearer plane is availablebetween the location platform and the end-user device. That is, acontrol plane infrastructure may have been involved in establishing thedata bearer so that communication can occur with the device but nolocation-specific procedural signaling occurs over the control plane. Assuch UPL is limited to obtaining measurements directly from the end-userdevice itself.

SUPL includes a Location User Plan (Lup) reference point, the interfacebetween the SUPL Location Platform (SLP) and SET, as well as security,authentication, authorization, charging functions, roaming, and privacyfunctions. For determining position, SUPL generally implements A-GPS,A-GNSS, or similar technology to communicate location data to adesignated network node over Internet Protocol (IP).

FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary architectural diagram for SUPL. Theillustrated entities represent a group of functions, and not necessarilyseparate physical devices. In the SUPL architecture, a SUPL LocationPlatform (SLP) 201 and SUPL-enabled terminal (SET) 207 are provided. TheSLP 201 generally includes a SUPL Location Center (SLC) 203 and a SUPLPositioning Center (SPC) 205. The SLC and SPC optionally communicateover the LIp interface, for instance, when the SLC and SPC are deployedas separate entities. The SET 207 generally includes a mobile locationservices (MLS) application, an application which requests and consumeslocation information, or a SUPL Agent, a service access point whichaccesses the network resources to obtain location information.

For any SET, a SLP 201 can perform the role of the home SLP (H-SLP),visited SLP (V-SLP) or emergency SLP (E-SLP). An H-SLP for a SETincludes the subscription, authentication, and privacy related data forthe SET and is generally associated with a part of the SET's home PLMN.A V-SLP for a SET is an SLP selected by an H-SLP or E-SLP to assistpositioning. An E-SLP for a SET is an SLP associated with or containedin the PLMN serving the SET. The E-SLP may performs positioning inassociation with emergency services initiated by the SET.

The SLC 203 coordinates operations of SUPL in the network and interactswith the SET over the User Plane bearer to perform various functionsincluding, but not limited to, privacy, initiation, security, roaming,charging, service management, and positioning calculation. The SPC 205supports various functions including, but not limited to, security,assistance delivery, reference retrieval, and positioning calculation.

SUPL session initiation is network-initiated or SET-initiated. The SUPLarchitecture provides various alternatives for initiating andfacilitating SUPL functions. For example, a SUPL Initiation Function(SIF) is optionally initiated using a Wireless Application Protocol PushProxy Gateway (WAP PPG) 211, a Short Message Service Center (SMSC/MC)213, or a User Datagram Protocol/Internet Protocol (UDP/IP) 215 core,which form user plane bearer 220.

The operation of UPL is shown in FIG. 3B. Secure User Plane Location isa standard specification for UPL. Location requests come to the SLP 201from external applications or from the end-user device itself. If a datasession does not exist between the SLP 201 and the device 207 already,then the SLP 201 may initiate a request such that an IP session (userplane bearer 220) is established between the device 207 and the SLP 201.From then on, the SLP 201 may request measurement information from thedevice 207. It device may also take measurements from the network 107 orfrom external systems such as GPS 210. Because there is no control planeconnectivity to the network, the SLP 201 cannot directly request anymeasurement information from the network 107 itself.

More information on SUPL, including the Secure User Plane LocationArchitecture documentation (OMA-AD-SUPL), can be readily obtainedthrough OMA.

User Plane location, especially after the development of SUPL standards,is generally thought to provide an affordable and rapid upgrade path toprovide LCS for mobile network operators currently without an CoPLsolution. However, UPL (including SUPL) suffers from several drawbackscompared to CoPL.

A standard user-plane location architecture has to be applied to alllocation requests for a given location based service because there is noa-priori knowledge of which part of the network the device is beingserved by, nor what the location capabilities of the device are.User-plane signaling has to be invoked every time and, in manyscenarios, may fail completely if the network or device are notcompatible with this architecture.

When a pure user-plane approach is used, there is no ability to requestnetwork measurement information from the radio controllers used by thenetwork. This additional information, which can be useful as analternative or to augment the measurements obtained from the device, isnot accessible. This compromises in terms of the location system'sability to provide optimal results.

A significant motivator for SUPL were the significant dependencies onthe vendors for access equipment, specifically the radio accesscontrollers, to support consistent standards behavior. There is also adependency on core network signaling for consistent LCS service.However, the issue of consistent implementation of the MAP signaling hasnot been found to be significant.

Further, the basic LCS functionality at the BSS 103 has becomeincreasingly commoditized. For instance, basic Lb interface and PLRmessaging are nearly universally supported across access vendors.

Current definitions of SUPL (per the OMA) decouple the end-to-endsignaling from the control plane. This bypasses much of the value-addthat the core control-plane offers. Such offerings include, but are notlimited to, native access-network emergency service application support,privacy checking against subscriber profile in the HLR, ability tosupport LCS requests from roaming partners' GMLCs. In addition, thelowest common denominator functionality of the access control-plane (Lbinterface functions) is lost. These lost abilities include, but are notlimited to, getting a rapid enhanced-cell fix with TA/NMR measurements,performing multiple TA requests to augment network measurementinformation, obtaining network measurements (e.g. UTDOA request) notavailable from a SET.

Further, UPL does not associate position information with a voice callfrom a user. Accordingly, UPL approaches are not used for certainemergency services, such as e911 in which the physical location directlyassociated with an emergency communication must be automaticallyascertained.

Much of the benefits of control-plane functionality, therefore, issacrificed with the wholesale adoption of a user-plane approach.

Therefore, regulatory requirements and evolving commercial demandsillustrate the disadvantages of a CoPL-only or SUPL-only networkarchitecture.

SUMMARY

A method is disclosed by which the SMLC-SLP acquires the MSISDN of atarget mobile by performing an out-of-band request to the GMLC whichoriginated the control plan signaling. In additional, a method isdisclosed using the acquired MSISDN for determining the position of amobile device using one or more location determining sessions.

Corresponding systems, devices, and computer program products are alsodisclosed. Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of thepresent disclosure will be or become apparent to one with skill in theart upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description.It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe present disclosure, and be protected by the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various aspects of the present disclosure will be or become apparent toone with skill in the art by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanyingexemplary non-limiting embodiments, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates prior art gateway function.

FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary architectural diagram for CoPL;

FIG. 2B illustrates operation of an exemplary CoPL architecture

FIG. 3A illustrates an exemplary architectural diagram for SUPL;

FIG. 3B illustrates operation of an exemplary SUPL architecture

FIG. 4 is a schematic architectural illustration of a disclosedembodiment including a dual-plane architecture;

FIG. 5 is a schematic architectural illustration of another disclosedembodiment depicting a SET-terminated/CoPL initiated positiondetermination;

FIG. 6 is a schematic architectural illustration of an additionaldisclosed embodiment depicting a MS-terminated/CoPL initiated positiondetermination;

FIG. 7 is a schematic architectural illustration of yet anotherdisclosed embodiment depicting a position determination including SUPLtermination with CoPL measurements;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary flow chart relating to a disclosedembodiment for comparing or combining the results of multiple positiondetermination protocols;

FIG. 9 is a schematic architectural illustration of another disclosedembodiment depicting a technology arbitration;

FIG. 10 is a schematic architectural illustration of yet anotherdisclosed embodiment depicting roaming optimization;

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary flow chart for determining a MSISDN fora mobile device in a multiplane wireless communication network;

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary flow chart for resolving subscriberidentification information in a multi-plane wireless communicationnetwork;

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of MSISDN caching and retrieval;and,

FIG. 14 illustrates a method for choosing a protocol layer for sending alocation request signal to a mobile device where the mobile device isoperating in a wireless network.

FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment of a dual plane architecture.

FIG. 16 illustrates the implementation of the dual plane architecture ofFIG. 15.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One aspect of the present disclosure includes using information obtainedby employing a first location determination protocol (or modality) tocontrol the efficient or advantageous invocation of a second locationdetermination protocol (or modality) in determining the position of amobile device. Another aspect includes comparing or combining theresults of multiple position determination protocols (or modalities) toenhance determination of a mobile device's position.

In yet another aspect, a multi-plane architecture for mobile devicelocation determination, is provided. In a further aspect of the presentdisclosure, modality arbitration in a multi-plane architecture, isprovided. In an additional aspect, roaming optimization includinginvoking an appropriate location modality, is provided.

Rather than limiting the scope of location procedures to be only CoPL orUPL based, it is possible to combine the two architectures. Such anarchitecture would arbitrate in terms of which plane to use for a givenlocation request, or it may combine the functionality of both planes fora given location request. This is shown in FIG. 4. At the simplest levelof arbitration, the dual-plane gateway function may apply specificcriteria to decide whether to invoke CoPL or UPL. It may do this basedon the application that is making the request, some knowledge of thecapabilities of the end-user device, and/or some knowledge of thecapabilities of the part of the network currently serving the device.

Generally speaking, if UPL is selected at the gateway function, then therest of the location procedures are limited to UPL capabilities. This isbecause the network generally needs to establish a session with theserving location function before that function is able to obtainmeasurements via the network. If UPL is invoked, then the communicationchannel associated with the location session will not exist for thepurposes of obtaining measurements via the network. However, if CoPL isinvoked first, then the measurement request channel will be in placeand, further, the serving node will still have the option ofestablishing an UPL session with the end device. The benefit of this isthat, for example, GPS measurements may be obtained from an UPL-onlydevice and be combined with measurements obtained from the network andother elements such as LMUs.

FIG. 15 is a schematic architectural illustration of a disclosedembodiment including a dual-plane architecture. By integrating astandard control-plane architecture as shown in FIG. 2B with SUPLfunctionality as shown in FIG. 3B, a flexible and powerful dual-planearchitecture is provided.

The Dual Plane gateway 1517 is now the network element that receives thelocation requests. The Dual Plane Gateway may invoke a CoPL session byquerying the HLR 1511 over the Lh interface to find out which part ofthe access network 1507 the target device is currently being served byif the CoPL is invoked or may initiation SUPL by establishing a userplane bearer 1520 between the Dual Plane Serving Function 1509 and theUser Device 1501. As noted before the selection may be based on theapplication that made the location request, the capabilities of thenetwork, the capabilities of the user device or request parameter etc.

If the CoPL is chosen by the Dual Plane Gateway 1517. The Dual PlaneGateway 1517 sends a location request to the current serving corenetwork node 1513 via the Lg interface. The current serving core networknode 1513 then passes the request to the part of the access network 1507that the target device is attached. This access network element 1507then invokes the facilities of the Dual Plane Serving Function 1509. Thelocation request session between the access network node 1507 and theDual Plane Serving Function 1509 provides a channel by which the DualPlane Serving Function 1509 can request network measurements or sendmessages to the end-user device 1501 so that device measurementinformation can be exchanged. The Dual Plane Serving Function 1509 mayalso obtain location measurement information from external devices 1510such as location measurement units (LMUs) which take RF readings fromthe air interface for example. Similarly, the device may also takemeasurements from external systems, such as GPS satellites, andcommunicate these to the Dual Plane Serving Function 1509. The DualPlane Serving Function 1509 contains the functionality of the SMLC 109of FIG. 2B as well as the functionality of the SLP 201 of FIG. 3B.

If the Dual Plane Gateway 1517 selects the SUPL, then user plane isinitiated through a request to the Dual Plane Serving Function 1509,which initiates a request such that an user plane bearer 1520 isestablished between the device 1507 and the Dual Plane Serving Function1509. The Dual Plane Serving Function 1509 may request measurementinformation from the device 1507. The device 1507 as noted previously,may also take measurements from the network 1507 or from externalsystems such as GPS 1510.

FIG. 16 shows an example of a dual-plane implementation combiningGPRS/SMLC functionality with SUPL. The Dual-plane capable GMLC 1609 isthe dual-plane gateway device shown in FIG. 15. It can determine thepart of the network that the device is currently in by querying the HLR1611 and use this information, for example, to arbitrate between GPRSCoPL or SUPL for the location determination, as noted above. Further, ifit invokes CoPL then the request will reach the dual-plane capable SMLC1609 via an established network measurement channel established with theAccess network 1608 and the Dual Plane capable SMLC 1609 is still ableto invoke SUPL if it is determined SUPL is the most effective way toobtain measurements from the device 1601, while still being able toobtain additional measurements via the control-plane session with thenetwork 1607. The Dual Plane capable GMLC 1617 may initiate a User planesession via a request to the Dual Plane capable SMLC 1609. Further, fora device that is both SUPL and CoPL capable, the Dual Plane capable SMLC1609 may obtain some types of measurements from the device 1607 via theSUPL session over the User plan bearer 1620 and others via the CoPLsession.

Although various nodes are depicted as collocated or integrated,separate implementation (for example, providing a GMLC distinct from anSLM) is also contemplated by these exemplary embodiments of dual-planearchitecture.

In the illustrated example, the GMLC/SLM 403 obtains locationinformation from either an LCS standard CoP request or a direct SPCfunction request.

When location information is obtained using a direct SPC functionrequest, the GMLC/SLM 403 relays location information is provided overthe IP network 407 to the SPC 405 by the UE/SET 409 to the LBS 401 overthe Le interface.

Alternatively, when location information is first obtained using a CoPrequest, the SMLC function, which receives the control-plane PositionLocation & Reporting (PLR) request, can access both control plane anduser-plane measurement resources to optimize the yield, speed, andaccuracy of the location result. With access to both measurement planes,the SMLC/SPC 405 may make dynamic decisions as to which planes should beused on a request-by-request basis and independent of the application.In addition, to selecting between control and user planes for locationdetermination, the SMLC/SPC 405 may also compare or combine the resultsusing weighting algorithms based on the time of measurement, estimateduncertainty, and velocity measurements.

FIG. 5 is a schematic architectural illustration of another disclosedembodiment depicting a SET-terminated/CoPL initiated positiondetermination. SUPL position determination can still be invoked even ifthe request is initiated over the CN control plane.

In the illustrated example, the location of the UE/SET 509 is beingdetermined by CoP signaling involving the HLR 511, MSC/SGSN 513, BSC515, and SMLC/SPC 505. Based on the CoP position requirements andmeasurements, the SMLC/SPC 505 optionally determines whether or not toinitiate a SUPL location determination session with the UE/SET 509. Thisdetermination by the SMLC/SPC 505 may involve the requested or requiredaccuracy of position information, such as the speed with which it isneeded by the LBS 501 requestor, or the estimated speed with which thenetwork could accomplish a CoPL versus a SUPL location request. Forexample, if the Quality of Position (QoP) indicates a coarse or rapidposition fix is desired by the requestor, the Timing Advance (TA) orNetwork Measurement Report (NMR) values will be provided as part of thePLR from the BSC. In such a situation, a SUPL session is optionally notinvoked, thereby avoiding SUPL session overhead.

Further, the dual-plane architecture also provides load sharing based onrequest routing in the CN. SPC nodes can be deployed and distributedaccording to network coverage similar to the deployment scheme of SMLCnodes. By virtue of the request routing in the CN, the load created bymultiple and simultaneous location requests across the network isdistributed. When a SET sends an INIT signal to a single Home-SLP(H-SLP) address, the SUPL Transaction ID in the INIT signal optionallyidentifies the specific SLC to which the session should be steered. TheINIT signal includes, but is not limited to a ULP SUPL START or ULP SUPLPOS INIT signal which contains SET capabilities. In alternativeembodiments, a master SLP within the CN steers the session to theappropriate SLC.

To perform a SUPL location determination, the Mobile StationInternational ISDN Number (MSISDN) of the UE/SET 509 is required. As theLb interface between the BSC and the SMLC/SPC supports delivery over thecontrol plane of the MSISDN, the MSISDN of the UE/SET 509 can beprovided to the SMLC/SPC 505 to initiate the optional SUPL session. Inone approach to a method of providing the MSISDN to the SMLC/SLP 505 ina dual-plane architecture, the International Mobile Subscriber Identity(IMSI) (or another unique identifier) is used to query the HLR 511 andretrieve the associated service separator (such as the MSISDN). Theretrieved MSISDN is then provided to the SMLC/SLP 505 for initiating theSUPL session. Methodology to obtain the MSISDN are further described indetail.

FIG. 6 is a schematic architectural illustration of an additionaldisclosed embodiment depicting a MS/UE-terminated/CoPL initiatedposition determination.

In the illustrated embodiment, the SMLC/SPC 605 receives deviceinformation via a control plane signal. Optionally, the control planesignal is a PLR signal. The control plane signal includes deviceinformation including, but not limited to, a classmark. The classmarkindicates to the SMLC/SPC 605 the capabilities of the UE/SET 609. Inparticular, the classmark and related device information indicatewhether the device 609 has control plane GPS or other LCS capabilities.

Based on the device information, the SMLC/SPC 605 optionally selectswhether to initiate a SUPL session. For control plane GPS capabledevices, position determination can be done without invoking theoverhead of a SUPL session. The SMLC/SPC 605 can consult the networkcell information to determine whether control plane GPS is supported onthat part of the access prior selecting CoPL or SUPL GPS. On receipt ofan emergency request, (Network Initiated-LR or Mobile Terminated-LR),the SMLC/SPC 605 can be configured to always do CoPL or not includingarbitration based on QoS. Methods of arbitrating among protocols, suchas control plane and user plane location modalities in a mixed accessenvironment, are discussed at greater length later in the disclosure.Alternatively, the 3GPP standards allow room to add a “SUPL-capable”code-point to the classmark information to inform the SMLC/SPC 605 ofSET 609 capability without having to first attempt a SUPL session.

FIG. 7 is a schematic architectural illustration of yet anotherdisclosed embodiment depicting a position determination including SUPLtermination with CoPL measurements. In the illustrated embodiment, bothCoPL and SUPL sessions are being invoked. These sessions can optionallyoccur concurrently or within a predetermined time interval, for example,related to UE velocity or QoP requirements by the requestor.

In this embodiment, the SMLC/SPC 705 can utilize the concurrent CoPLsession while the SUPL session is invoked to gather additionalmeasurements from the network. For example, the SMLC/SPC 705 may make aUTDOA request to the BSC 715 and obtain the information required toprime LMUs 721 to enable UTDOA measurements by the UTDOA PositionDetermination Entity (PDE). The network measurements from the CoPLsignaling is optionally used to provide a higher accuracy fallbacklocation than a mere cell location supported by SUPL alone. Further, theCoPL-obtained network measurements are optionally used in conjunctionwith SET 709 GPS measurements to perform hybrid location determination,thereby providing an improvement over the yield of SUPL GPS on its own.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary flow chart relating to multi-planeposition determination in a wireless communications: In block 801 arequest for location of a mobile device is received from a LCS. Thecontrol plane data of the network is accessed in block 803 and networkbased measurements. For example, NMR and TA are extracted in block 805.The UPL data is accessed in Block 807 and the device based measurementsare extracted in Block 809. Using both the network based measurement andthe device based measurements a multiplane position measurement may bedetermined as shown in Block 811. Both the network based measurementsand the device based measurements as noted earlier may also includeexternal sources, such as LMU and GPS.

FIG. 9 is a schematic architectural illustration of another disclosedembodiment depicting a technology arbitration. In particular, selectedembodiments enable selection of a preferred location determinationprotocol. Whereas, a SUPL-only deployment or CoPL-only deploymentprecludes any use of the other protocol to process location requests, adual-plane architecture creates the possibility of arbitrating betweenprotocols and choosing an optimum or preferred protocol on arequest-by-request basis.

With a dual-plane architecture, the SMLC/SPC 905 has information, suchas the classmark of the UE/SET 909, on which to base the arbitration. Asdiscussed previously, the received classmark indicates the control-planecapabilities of the device. Further, the network information in theSMLC/SPC 905 informs it of the capabilities of the access. Based ondevice and access capabilities, the SMLC/SPC 905 can effectivelyarbitrate between relying on control plane positioning, user planepositioning, or both.

Alternatively, the protocol decision may be made in the GMLC/SLM 903.However, as the GMLC/SLM 903 is less aware of the device and accessnetwork capabilities on which to base the decision to select a protocolor modality, the GMLC/SLM 903 relies on the LCS Client ID such that someapplications always invoke SUPL and others always invoke CoPL.Alternatively, the GMLC/SLM 903 relies on the MSISDN of the device 909.

FIG. 10 is a schematic architectural illustration of yet anotherdisclosed embodiment depicting roaming optimization. Based on theidentification of the serving network indicated by the routinginformation (for instance, the Send Routing Information, SRI, resultfrom querying the HLR 1011), the GMLC/SLM 1003 can invoke CoPL or SUPLbased on the returned routing information. When a subscriber is roamedout of the home network, it is possible that the visited networksupports CoPL 1019, SUPL 1007, or neither. In a pure SUPL approach, aSUPL session is initiated with the SET 1009 but the cell informationprovided will likely not mean anything to the SMLC/SPC 1005.Alternatively, if the visited network actually supports CoPL 1019,sending a standard CoPL request into the visited core network, is moreeffective.

By invoking control plane signaling (for example, SRI) to the HLR 1011first, the obtained routing information provides an indication of theidentity of the visited network. The GMLC/SLM 1003 then dynamicallydecides whether the request is best initiated via the home network SUPLcapability or via the control plane. When SUPL is selected, otherSUPL-specific roaming support infrastructure may be accessed by theGMLC/SLM 1003 or SMLC/SPC 1005 to determine visited cell locationinformation.

As noted above to perform a SUPL location determination, the MSISDN ofthe UE/SET 509 is required. The SPC needs to invoke the SUPL signalingvia a WAP PPG, or SMSC. For WAP and SMS initiated ULP, the MSISDN of theSET is require. It should be noted by the invocation is normally an SLMfunction, the dual plane architectures has the initiation responsibilitymoved the SPC or more appropriately SMLC/SPC. In the prior art, there isno signaling support to deliver the MSISDN or current IP address to theSMLC. Typically CoPL location signaling has the location procedureinitiation at the SMLC done with a PerformLocationRequest (PLR) message.The PLR message includes the option of providing the IMSI or IMEI of thedevice. However, the IMSI or IMEI, as discussed previously, is notsufficient to use for ULP initiation with either standard WAP-PPG orSMSC signaling. Furthermore, as described herein, the IMSE or IMEI maybe used as a correlator where the MSISDN-IMSI or MSISDN-IMEIrelationship is known. Advantageously the GMLC possesses both the MSISDNand the IMSI of the target device, this information may be obtained froma standard LCS SRI query to the HLR. Thus, by caching the MSISDN-IMSI orMSISDN-IMEI relationship, the GMLC may provide a well known query entityfor the SPC to resolve the MSISDN value.

FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration of MSISDN caching and retrieval. TheGMLC/SLM 1317 using a LCS_SRI(MSISDN) 1318 to the HLR 1311 request theIMSI or IMEI associated with the MSISDN. The HLR 1311 returns aLCS_SRI(IMSI) 1319 message the IMSI or IMEI of the device associatedwith the MSISDN. The GMLC/SLM 1317 then caches the IMSI-MSISDN orIMEI-MSISDN relationship information. When the SMLC/SPC 1309 receives aPLR 1320 with the IMSI included, and it further determines that SUPLshould be used, it queries the GMLC 1317 with a GETID(IMSI) 1322 messageto determine the associated MSISDN. The GMLC responses with aGETID(MSISDN) 1322 message which includes the MSISDN of the targetdevice. The query occurs across a non-standard CoPL interface 1325 asshown in FIG. 13. The L1 p interface is already defined in the SUPLarchitecture between the SLM 1317 and the SPC 1309 and thus may be usedfor this purpose. Whether this interface or another non-CoPL interfaceis used, the request semantics are the same; a IMSI or IMEI is providedand an MSISDN is received. Upon receipt of the MSISDN the SMLC/SPC 1309proceeds with SUPL messaging 1324 with the SET/MS 1301.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment for determining at the SMLC/SPC aMSISDN for a mobile device in a multiplane wireless communicationnetwork. The identity of the mobile in addition to being represented bythe MSISDN may also be an IP address. As such, the method fordetermining the MSISDN would be illustrative for determining the IPaddress as well. The SMLC/SPC obtains via the CoP of the network an IMSIor IMEI of the mobile device as shown in Block 1101. The GMLC receivesvia the SUPL of the network, information related to the IMSI or IMEIfrom the SMLC/SPC as shown in Block 1103. The GMLC determines the MSISDNas a function of the information provided by the SMLC/SPC as shown inBlock 1105. The SMLC the receives information relating to the MSISDNfrom the GMLC to determine the MSISDN as shown in Block 1107. TheSMLC/SPC is now armed with the MSISDN of the mobile appliance, maytransmit a request for the location of the mobile device as shown inBlock 1109.

FIG. 12 illustrates an embodiment for resolving subscriberidentification information in a multi-plane wireless communicationnetwork which includes a GMLC/SLM, a HLR, a MSC and a SET. In block 1201a location request is initiated through a control plane. In block 1203,a LCS sends routing information (LCS SRI) request is sent from the GMLCto the HLR where the MSISDN is associated with a mobile subscriberidentifier. In block 1205, the HLR responds to the LCS SRI and providesthe IMSI/IMEI that corresponds to the MSISDN. The GMLC stores theprovided IMSI/IMEI with the associated MSISDN as shown in Block 1207.The GMLC sends a ProvideSubscriberLocation (PSL) message to theMSC/SGSN, which independently determines the IMSI/IMEI as shown in Block1209. The PLR either directly of via the BSC is transmitted to the SMLCwith the IMSI and/or IMEI in Block 1211. User plane positioning may thenbe selected for the location request as shown in Block 1213 and the SMLCrequests the MSISDN associated with the IMSI/IMEI from the GMLC in Block1215. The GMLC performs a look up to determine the MSISDN associatedwith the IMSI/IMEI in Block 1217. The MSISDN is then returned to theSMLC/SPC in Block 1219 and the SMLC/SPC invokes a SUPL signal to the SETbased on the MSISDN and the IMSI or IMEI as shown in Block 2121.

Alternatively, the SMLC instead of requesting the MSISDN in Block 1215,may request the GMLC to initiate a SUPL session with the device with theMSISDN associated with the IMSI/IMEI as shown in Block 1220. In whichcase the GMLC/SLC sends the appropriate SUPL initiation request thedevice with the corresponding MSISDN as shown in Block 1222. Once theGMLC/SLC indicates the SUPL session, the device establishes the sessionwith the SMLC/SPC with the appropriate SUPL start message as shown inBlock 1224. At the expiration of the location request the informationrelating the IMSI/IMEI and the MSISDN may be deleted.

As described previously, standard LCS control plane signaling canidentify the current core network serving entity or MSC. This may beuseful in arbitrating between SUPL and CoPL at this granularity ofnetwork coverage, for example, in making a roaming decision. However, agreater amount of detail may be useful. For example, multiple radionetwork controllers, BSCs may be subtended off a single MSC. Some ofthese radio network controllers may support CoPL LCS signaling and somemay not. Thus, a CoPL request for a device in this area of coverage mayfail. Having knowledge before selecting CoPL versus SUPL would thereforebe more optimal and efficient than selecting a COPL and falling back toSUPL on failure of the CoPL. In view of this, where the standard CoPLsignaling does not provide detailed information about the serving radionetwork area, other messaging may advantageously be used. For example,the 3GPP standard LCS_SRI message does not provide access serving areainformation, but, the 3GPP CAMEL standard AnyTimelnterrogation (ATI)message response has the ability to provide the current serving accessarea information.

Since information associated with the serving area is available, it isbeneficial to take advantage of improving optimization and efficiency.Therefore, preceding any CoPL or SUPL signaling with a request, such asATI, permits the GMLC/SLM to select the most suitable signalingmechanism for that area of coverage. This can be accomplished byexploiting existing core network MAP signaling to the HLR using theMAP-ANY-TIME-INTERROGATION request message. This message will return aserving area identifier which by reference to a database, can be used todetermine whether the network operator would prefer control plane oruser plane signaling to be utilized in the performance of a locationservices request.

FIG. 14 illustrates a method for choosing a protocol layer for sending alocation request signal to a mobile device where the mobile device isoperating in a wireless network using an yet unknown standard having aCoPL and a SUPL. The yet unknown network standard likely being one ofGSM, GERAN, UTRAN. As shown, the GMLC/SLM 1417 sends an ATI message,specifically a MATI message, to the HLR 1411. This message may be sentvia the wireless network's Mobile Application part signaling system. TheHLR 1411 will in turn respond with a serving area identifier. TheGMLC/SLM 1417, using the serving area identifier with reference to adatabase can determine whether to invoke CoPL or UPL. As shown in FIG.14, the serving area identifier of Access area 1 results in SUPL beinginvoked to determine the location of the mobile appliance 1401. However,in Access area 2, the serving area identifier with reference to thedatabase results in the selection of CoPL being invoked to determine thelocation of the mobile appliance 1402.

The method for choosing the protocol layer, i.e. the CoPL or UPL, may beimplemented in computer readable code, and distributed across networkelements.

The various dual-plane LCS architectures described herein advantageouslyoptimize speed, yield, accuracy, and roaming performance oflocation/position determination with CoPL and SUPL.

By utilizing network signaling facilities available through a mobilenetwork control plane, it is possible to extract data which can be usedto more precisely control the invocation of user-plane locationsignaling. This improves the overall latency and yield of the locationservices infrastructure in place for the cellular network. Further, bysupporting the extraction of network-based measurements usingcontrol-plane signaling and using them in conjunction with measurementsobtained by user-plane signaling, the accuracy and yield of individuallocation requests can also be improved.

Any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should be understoodas representing modules, segments, or portions of computer software orcode which include one or more executable instructions for implementingspecific logical functions or steps in the process, and alternateimplementations are included within the scope of the preferredembodiment of the present disclosure in which functions may be executedout of order form that shown or discussed, including substantiallyconcurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionalityinvolved, as would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the artof the present disclosure.

As noted previously location requests may also come from the device orother parts of the network. These may come directly via the UP or viathe CoP. In the case of the former, and for reasons previouslydescribed, the rest of the session will typically be limited to UPLprocedures. However, for a request that is initiated on the CoP, theserving location platform may, as already described, still be able toarbitrate between or combine CoPL and UPL procedures to determinelocation.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments,particularly any “preferred” embodiments, are merely possible examplesof implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of theprinciples of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may bemade to the above-described embodiments of the disclosure withoutdeparting substantially from the spirit and principles of thedisclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to beincluded herein within the scope of this disclosure, the presentdisclosure and protected by the following claims.

The embodiments disclosed herein for providing for protocol selectionand position determination can be implemented using computer usablemedium having a computer readable code executed by special purpose orgeneral purpose computers.

1. A method for determining at a first node a first identifier for amobile device in a multi-plane wireless communications network,comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining at the first node via a firstplane of the network a second identifier for the mobile device; (b)receiving at a second node via a second plane of the network a firstsignal transmitted from the first node; (c) determining at the secondnode the first identifier as a function of the first signal; and (d)receiving at the first node a second signal transmitted from the secondnode to thereby determine the first identifier at the first node.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the first identifier is selected from at leastone of a Mobile Station International ISDN Number (“MSISDN”) and an IPaddress.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the second identifier is anInternational Mobile Subscriber Identity (“IMSI”).
 4. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the first node is an Serving Mobile Location Center(“SMLC”).
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the second node is a GatewayMobile Location Center (“GMLC”).
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein thefirst plane is a control plane.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein thesecond plane is a user plane.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the firstsignal includes information relating to the second identifier.
 9. Themethod of claim 8 wherein the second identifier is an IMSI.
 10. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the second signal includes informationrelating to the first identifier.
 11. The method of claim 10 wherein thefirst identifier is selected from at least one of an MSISDN and an IPaddress.
 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the second signal istransmitted over the first plane.
 13. A method for requesting from afirst node the location of a mobile device in a multi-plane wirelesscommunications network, comprising the steps of: (a) obtaining at thefirst node via a first plane of the network a second identifier for themobile device; (b) receiving at a second node via a second plane of thenetwork a first signal transmitted from the first node; (c) determiningat the second node the first identifier as a function of the firstsignal; (d) receiving at the first node a second signal transmitted fromthe second node to thereby determine the first identifier at the firstnode; and (e) transmitting from the first node a request to locate themobile device.
 14. The method of claim 13 wherein the first identifieris selected from at least one of a Mobile Station International ISDNNumber (“MSISDN”) and an IP address.
 15. The method of claim 13 whereinthe second identifier is an International Mobile Subscriber Identity(“IMSI”).
 16. The method of claim 13 wherein the first node is anServing Mobile Location Center (“SMLC”).
 17. The method of claim 13wherein the second node is a Gateway Mobile Location Center (“GMLC”).18. The method of claim 13 wherein the first plane is a control plane.19. The method of claim 13 wherein the second plane is a user plane. 20.The method of claim 13 wherein the first signal includes informationrelating to the second identifier.
 21. The method of claim 20 whereinthe second identifier is an IMSI.
 22. The method of claim 13 wherein thesecond signal includes information relating to the first identifier. 23.The method of claim 22 wherein the first identifier is selected from atleast one of an MSISDN and an IP address.
 24. The method of claim 13wherein the second signal is transmitted over the first plane.
 25. Amethod for resolving subscriber identification information in amulti-plane wireless communications network including a gateway mobilelocation center (GMLC/SLM), a home location register (HLR), a mobileswitching center (MSC), and a SUPL enabled terminal (SET), comprisingsteps of: (a) initiating a location request through a control plane; (b)transmitting a first identifier from the GMLC/SLM to the HLR; (c)receiving a second identifier at the GMLC/SLM from the HLR, the secondidentifier corresponding to the first identifier; (d) storing the firstand second identifiers and correspondence information there between atthe GMLC/SLM; (e) transmitting the second identifier to one of a servingmobile location center and a SUPL positioning center (SMLC/SPC); (f)selecting user plane positioning for the location request; (g)transmitting the second identifier from the SMLC/SPC to the GMLC/SLM;(h) resolving the first identifier corresponding to second identifier;(i) returning to the SMLC/SPC the corresponding second identifier; and(j) invoking SUPL signaling to the SET based on the first identifier andcorresponding second identifier.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein thefirst identifier is a MSISDN.
 27. The method of claim 25, wherein thefirst identifier is an IP address.
 28. The method of claim 25, whereinthe second identifier is an IMSI.
 29. The method of claim 25, whereinsteps (g) and (j) include signals across a non-standard control planeinterface.
 30. The method of claim 25, further comprising: (m) deletingthe first and second identifiers and correspondence information therebetween from the GMLC upon expiration of the location request.
 31. Themethod of claim 25, wherein step (e) includes a PerformLocationRequest(PLR) message providing an IMSI.